150 Years Ago Today at Petersburg: March 24, 1865

President and Mrs. Lincoln arrive at Fort Monroe at midday and eventually at City Point in the evening, reaching the vicinity of Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant’s headquarters there.

General Ulysses S. Grant sends instructions for a general movement against Lee’s army to his chief subordinates, Major Generals Meade, Ord, and Sheridan. At this point, Sheridan’s cavalry is still not considered part of the immediate forces around Richmond and Petersburg, instead being detailed for a raid on the South Side and Danville railroads, the last remaining supply lines of Lee’s army.

On or slightly before this date, Brevet Major General John W. Turner, chief of staff of the Army of the James, is assigned to duty as the commander of the Independent Division, Twenty-Fourth Corps, Army of the James.

General Robert E. Lee asks Jefferson Davis to have the Governor of Virginia call out all able bodied Blacks, slave and free, between the ages of eighteen and forty-five, to serve as soldiers in the Confederate army.

Brigadier General William F. Perry is assigned to command Law’s (old) Brigade, Field’s Division, First Corps, Army of Northern Virginia.

General James Longstreet asks for transportation for 8,000 men to quickly ship Pickett’s Division (commanded temporarily by Brigadier General George H. Steuart) south from Richmond to Petersburg. Robert E. Lee is planning an attack on Fort Stedman on the morning of March 25, 1865 by Gordon’s Second Corps, and needs reinforcements for the south side.

General James Longstreet’s troops north of the James are ordered to be ready for battle on the morning of March 25, 1865, after John B. Gordon attacks Fort Stedman.

Note: All “Today In The Petersburg Campaign” blog entries are used with permission from Ronald A. Mosocco’s Chronological Tracking of the American Civil War per the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion. Order the book HERE.